Civil Twilight
by blackmarketmusic
Summary: Starting from the events that took place during episode 6, "Civil Twilight" revolves around a threatening organization willing to do anything to overthrow the supernatural in Mystic Falls; and an evolving romance between Damon/Elena.
1. The Cleanest Way Possible

Author's Note:

So, here is a new piece of fan-fiction from yours truly, and this time it will be centering around the Vampire Diaries and the pairing of Damon/Elena. I already have a very elaborate plot in mind for this, and I'm very excited to be writing it although I've been extremely busy with school.

* * *

Logan Fell was dead.

Laying on the forest floor, motionless, sucked-dry. Sheriff Forbes strained her eyes to see the bloody, deep hole on his neck. It had happened again. And she was powerless to stop it. How many more deaths could this small town endure? Would they come for her daughter, Caroline, next? Her friends? It had to end.

"Fell is dead."

"I can see that."

"Yes…"

"We need to put a stop to this now."

"I understand, sir."

"Does anyone know?"

"Vikki Donovan does, I saw her, running through the woods, but she is one of them now."

"Who else?"

"Elena Gilbert."

"And her brother?"

"He doesn't know."

"Well then, we'll just have to take care of this, won't we?"

"How do you mean, sir?"

"In the cleanest way possible."

And Sheriff Forbes knew what the man meant. In times such as these, desperate measures had to be taken. It would end, tonight.

* * *

She was on the floor, stuck still in shock. She had not remembered how she had gotten there. And suddenly, with terrifying force, the entire rush of memories came back. She had said goodbye to him, to Stefan, the one thing, the one person that had made her truly happy the past few months. He was supposed to be the perfect boyfriend, the first-class ticket to a normal life. Instead, he turned out to be the exact opposite.

Her knees had buckled, and her entire body racked with sobs. The girl that her brother had been undoubtedly in love with for the past year, Vikki, was now a vampire, turned by Stefan's own diabolical brother, Damon. And Stefan was… a creature. A creature of the night, who should have been malevolent and frightening. But turned out instead to be the exact opposite. And, believe it or not, that in and of itself just terrified Elena more.

She had to get out of the house, just go somewhere else. Clear her head, and try to breathe. Almost mechanically, she went to the kitchen, grabbed the car keys and ran out to the garage. Elena started the car; the feel and motion of the motor underneath her feet sent a throbbing sensation throughout her entire body. She hiccupped, chocking on her tears, and backed out of the garage.

She drove for nearly an hour. She looked down at the numbers on the radio. It was one- thirty in the morning. Elena saw a tiny dinner straight ahead. Driving to it, she parked the car, and exited. Walking into the small building, a country song assaulted her ears, and the white, pink, and red colors of the booths and menu's danced in front of her eyes. She ordered a coffee and a donut, to calm her nerves. Elena sat there, in the leather booth for nearly two hours. Her shaking had subsided, and her breathing had regulated.

"Excuse me, miss?"

A tiny little waitress snapped Elena out of her stupor, smiling at her sweetly.

"We are about to close, honey. I'm sorry, but you need to leave."

"Oh, yes, yes of course."

Elena stammered, digging through her jean pockets and finding several quarters and a dime, she placed them on the table. And picking up her car keys that were propped against an empty plastic coffee cup, she left.

Walking back to the car, Elena took out her keys, and upon reaching it, stuck them into the lock on the door. And it would not open.

_What?_

There was a sound behind her, a scuffle of feet. Elena whirled around quickly to identify where the noise must have come from, straining her eyes to see through the shadows, trying not to breathe. And there was nothing but… stillness. She could her nothing, see nothing. There was something out there. Near her. Something that wanted her dead.

_Elena, stop it. You are so paranoid. _She told herself. Surely, discovering your boyfriend was a vampire and that his powerful brother was on the warpath to fulfill some sick, vengeful fantasy had pulled a pretty good number on her the past night.

Regaining her composure, and turning around to try and unlock the car, Elena suddenly felt a pair of hands cover her mouth, stifling a scream. She felt all the muscles in her body agonizingly tense, and her knees buckled, her arms went limp in terror. This had to be all in her imagination, a fantasy. And then she felt a cold, metal blade touch the skin of her throat. No, this was definitely real. Trying to think of a way to save herself, Elena remembered a defense mechanism taught by Mr. Pfizer in middle school. Stepping on her attackers foot, Elena positioned herself at an angle, kicking him in the shin, her elbow mercilessly jabbed into his abdomen. And she was free. Elena turned, seeing no one. Her unknown assailant had fled the scene. And then, she heard the screech of the wheels of a car.

_What the hell? Was there someone else coming for her? _

Suddenly, Elena's muddled mind became clear. She had to get out of this parking lot now. But, she was to late; the car had already pulled up beside her. The relief that entered her was so complete, that it was painful. But as Elena's eyes settled on the form in the drivers seat, a shock of black hair and pale, defined features, fear and terror bubbled up within her stomach. And one word managed to escape her lips.

"_Damon?"_

The car door swung open.

"Come with me if you want to live."

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it. Please read and review.


	2. Iscariot: Out for Blood Part 1

Civil Twilight

By: Megan

Chapter 2: Iscariot: Out for Blood Part 1

* * *

"_We can cut to the chase if you want, I'm not going to kill you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda. So… where's Stefan?"_

"_He's out looking for Vikki."_

"_Don't look at me with those judgy little eyes, that girl is going to thank me for what I did to her."_

"_Did you thank Katherine?"_

"_You got the whole life story, huh?"_

"_I got enough."_

"_Oh I doubt that. Tell my brother I'm looking for him. Oh, and tip for later… Be careful who you invite in the house."_

That encounter, back at the Gilbert house, was still running vividly through Elena mind. All her muddled memories were making their way to the surface and becoming clear.

He was sitting no more than several feet away from her, his black hair and pale face gleaming in the artificial twilight of the street lamps that reflected in the car windows, as the rubber of the worn tires screeched against the pavement.

They must be going 100 miles an hour.

It was Damon. The man who she believed could very well turn out to be her future murderer, for he was a predator…evil. His eyes were still focused intently on the road. Elena took a small sharp intake of breath.

"What are you doing?" She whispered. "Why did you save me back there?"

A soft laughter escaped Damon's lips, as they curved into the faint form of a smile.

"It would have been such a waste, and besides…" Damon broke mid sentence as he looked quickly into the review mirror, swerving the vehicle to the side of the road.

"…I like to travel."

The car was positioned at an angle on the side of the highway, the noise of the traffic deafening to Elena's ears. She stared at Damon inquisitively, intently. Waiting for his next move. But he didn't move. He just simply sat there, still, and breathing evenly.

Elena tried to conceal the chills, the slight tremors that rocked her body, but she knew that he saw them anyway. She was the first to break the several minutes of silence, however. But, when she managed to get the words out, they only came in a slight whisper.

"What is going on? What happened to me back there?"

"You're going to have except that there are many things that you will not understand tonight…"

"I already don't understand anything! Every faith, every belief that I have ever had has been ripped apart…"

"Stop. You need to listen to what I have to say, Elena. They know. They know that you know about my brother and I, and they are going to kill you if you don't listen to me and do as I say."

"Who knows, what are you talking about?"

And, in that moment, Elena saw what she believed to have been the most frightening sight she had ever witnessed in her life. A look of fear settled over Damon's features. It was strange. There was none of his usual mockery or malice, and he was, in fact, reclining in the driver's seat, relaxed. Yet that hint of fear… it was evident. It was there.

"You have no idea. Neither does Stefan. You have no idea who the hell you're dealing with."

"What does that mean? Who the hell are we dealing with?"

"About half a century ago, a top-secret wing of the Vatican was formed in Rome. They are charged with the active pursuit and extermination of demons, vampires…"

"The Iscariot Organization."

"What do you know about them?"

"They are mercenaries, the organization is named after Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus. They hunt vampires even if they do not pose a threat, just for the sake of what they are. But they're not real… they only exists in horror novels, fairy-stories…"

"Like my brother and I?"

A pause. Damon was right, there were many things Elena would not understand tonight.

"But, that is insane, they cannot exist…"

"Oh, I assure you, they do. Mayor Lockwood is one of them."

"That's impossible…"

"Iscariot has branches of their division in every major city, even in every small town."

"How long have they been here?"

With Elena's question, Damon's face went serene. His lower lip gave the smallest, most thoughtful pout, his features then distorting with the most awful feelings of hatred and hurt. A terrible frown broke over him.

"Since 1864."

_Katherine._

* * *

Vikki ran through the dark and alien forest, blood dripping down her mouth, her shirt. The pounding in her ears, like the pounding of a drum, grew louder and louder. Her lips were throbbing, her fingers were aching, and she could feel the rush in the flesh of her temples, her veins.

She was more astute, aware. Her senses were sharper, more defined. And though horrified, she was astounded by the beauty of the night. As Vikki slowed her run to a walk, along the tree-lined levee in the moonlight, she savored the scent of the orange blossoms, and the smell of the moist leaves, and the wet dirt ground. She could feel the shine of the moon on her shoulders, and strangely, it's caressing warmth. It was then that Vikki decided that she had to see Jeremy.

* * *

Stefan was beginning to feel again. Within these past months, everything, every thought, every emotion became apparent again. He wasn't numb anymore, struck dumb by so many passing years… alone.

Elena. The name in and of itself was his savior in more ways then one. He had seen her as Katherine at the start, the resemblance so striking, and comforting, that he had to stay in Mystic Falls. The town of his birth that held so many painful memories, repressed, but never forgotten.

And now he had lost her. Although, he couldn't blame her. And when he actually faced her, told her the truth about his origins, it was a sweet shock to his senses. Yes, Stefan Salvatore was beginning to feel again and it hurt. He would see her again, he decided. Tonight.

* * *

"I'm starving."

"What?"

Damon and Elena had been driving for at least several more hours now, in circles. Damon said it was a pre-caution in case they were being followed, because he was taking her home. Not that there was much to go back to anymore. Except for Jeremy and Aunt Jenna.

_There was always Jeremy._ Elena thought with comfort. Her little brother was a constant in her life, and although he could, most of the time, be annoying and stubborn and lacked an incredible amount of common sense, he was the one guy that would always be there for her. No matter what. They were stuck together, like Damon and Stefan were. Maybe not for eternity, but they were two peas in a pod, and had been since Jeremy had entered the first grade.

"If only I had drained Fell myself," Elena heard Damon mutter under his breath. "I need to feed now."

Elena recoiled slightly, an action that Damon recognized right away. He let out a chuckle.

"Not on you, unless, of course, you're offering?"

Elena shook her head.

"Very well, then."

Damon parked the car at the border of Mystic Falls Park. Elena had ought to be angry with him at that moment, considering that he was actually planning on snatching his dinner right in front of her very eyes, but she could feel nothing but the feeling of gratitude in the pit of her stomach. Damon had saved her life.

"This will only take a moment."

With that, Damon exited the vehicle with his usual swagger. Elena squinted, trying to see through the deep darkness and grey fog, but she didn't see… anyone. What was Damon doing? And then Elena saw her. She was drunk and very beautiful, propped up on the back of one of the wicker benches positioned by the bright, red jungle gym.

Damon approached her, and strangely enough, the drugged doll of a woman with gorgeous red hair shinning and falling down past her shoulders that were covered in a large jean jacket, smiled up at him. Elena couldn't imagine what would happen next, but she knew what would be the ultimate end; Damon was going to kill her.

Damon sat down beside the woman on the bench, as she began to tease him with kisses, apparently recognizing his coldness, his lack of desire for her. This was going to be a very fast kill. For, Damon was not taking his time.

Elena watched as the woman put her left arm around Damon's long neck, her right hand smoothing down his soft, black hair. He buried his face in the flesh of her neck. Damon was masterfully clever and very vicious, as Elena would soon realize, for he had sunk his teeth into the woman on the bench, his thumb pressing down on her throat, his other arm locking her body to his tightly, so that he could drink his fill and, as Elena observed from the look on the woman's face, she never even new what was happening to her. A moment later, her form slumped down against the metal arm of the bench, and Damon rose, walking back to the car. And, entering the vehicle, he sat down in the driver's seat, placing the keys in the ignition. His face was flushed now, much altered.

"You're disgusting."

Damon shrugged, and there was a dangerous glimmer in his black eyes.

"Don't push me, Elena."

* * *

Disclaimer: The name of the Iscariot Organization belongs to the Hellsing Series. However, I have incorporated it into my story to serve the plot and will make the organization, and it's methods, my own.

Please read and review if you wish me to continue.


	3. Iscariot: Out For Blood Part 2

Civil Twilight

By: Megan

Chapter 3: Iscariot Out For Blood Part 2

* * *

All their close friends knew the inside joke that Matt and Elena had been together since kindergarten. Like Vikki had always imagined, everyone believed that they would marry, have a small suburban house with a green lawn and a red mower, with lots of chubby babies. Jeremy and her would always be hanging out, whether they were spurned by Elena and Matt between make-out sessions or dinner dates, her and Jeremy were stuck together. Sometimes not knowing really what to say, because there was nothing to do, no words to be expressed. Vikki was Matt's sister, after all. And Jeremy always reminded himself of that; after all, it was just a simple crush. Always would be.

That simple crush included listening to heavy metal or talking about each other grievances concerning their siblings. Jeremy always left a flashlight turned on in the left-hand corner of his bedroom window when he wanted Vikki to come up. She would joke that it was "girly" of him. But it worked. And she would usually sneak home around 1 or 2 a.m.

The light was on tonight, in the window. Vikki swore that she could see it from a mile away. Maybe that was one of the new perks of this vampire life? Enhanced vision? Vikki rushed to the house, finding the tiny key that Jeremy had left under one of the banister's on the porch, when they started hooking up, when Jeremy started doing drugs. But it wasn't the drugs. It was repression. And once forgotten feelings. Years and years of it. Vikki took the key, put it through the hole, and took a step forward to let herself in the house, yet she could not enter. An invisible barrier barred her. And then she saw Jeremy coming down the stairs, befuddled and anxious in a pair of boxers and a white t-shirt.

"Hi, Jer…"

"Why are you just standing there, Vik? Come in right now!"

The statement in and of itself was more or less a command, and it seemed to do the trick. As Vikki noted when she stumbled into Jeremy's awaiting arms, the invisible barrier cut and erased. Jeremy held her in his arms, just feeling relief and a sense of completeness wash over him. She was safe. Vikki was safe. He led her upstairs, into his bedroom, and they sat on the mattress together, just holding each other.

"What happened to you?" Jeremy whispered into Vikki's ear, stroking her hair.

"Nothing, I was just a little freaked out, that's all."

Her breath was hot against his cheek.

"I missed you, I was worried. You have to stop this."

"I know… But it's not what you think…"

"I mean it Vik…"

"It's not what you think, okay!"

"That's the thing with you, Vikki! Your delusional…"

"Delusional!"

"Listen, I know I'm no expert, I'm not the perfect guy, but there's so much more to life than getting stoned all the time. And believe it or not," Jeremy took Vikki's hand into his own, staring into her eyes. "I know this because of you. When my parents died, I felt like crap. Like nothing mattered crap. And then I started having these moments, these tiny moments of clarity, and you were in every single one of them. Everything was so clear. That's why I know you are not a 'waste of space, small town lifer', your that girl. You're that girl Vikki. The one that makes me feel that I don't need to be anything else than who I am. And the drugs just aren't me. I'm the clean-cut kid, who did have this dark period growing up. But that doesn't mean that I need to leave you behind. 'Cause… I love you."

Vikki sat there, shocked. To stunned to answer. But none other than the intoxicating smell of Jeremy's blood elicited the images that muddled through her brain. She could almost taste it on her dry tongue, she was starving. The images, the taste, the fantasy, it blazed hot enough to eclipse everything that Jeremy had just said, the love and trust and care emanating through him. It was too vivid, all to real for her to stand it.

Vikki stood up from the bed, heading towards the door. When she didn't answer him, when she got up to leave, Jeremy grabbed a hold of her, wanting to shake her. He'd never seen her like this before. But Vikki, with her new supernatural powers and superior strength, escaped from his grasp, and fled the room. Because she loved him too. She couldn't hurt him. He used to be just a boy to her, one that she hung out with, than one that she had used, and than one that she had fallen for. Than, suddenly, he had turned into this man who had brought her to her senses.

Though it was hopeless, Jeremy ran after her. But Vikki had already disappeared. And in the frame of the swing open front door of the Gilbert house stood none other than Stefan Salvatore.

"Jeremy, what is going on? Is everything okay?"

"No, it's not… Vikki, she just- she's just… I don't know…"

"Listen, can you please tell me where Elena is?"

"She isn't here."

"But I need to speak with her."

"I don't know where she is."

Fear plunged through Stefan's stomach, a filling in the bottomless pit. Elena was in trouble, he knew it. And this was his entire fault.

"She didn't tell you where she was going?"

"No, she left awhile back. Wait- what's wrong?"

Jeremy had become aware to the obvious look of panic on Stefan's usually passive features, he was rushing out of the house, Jeremy following close behind. Just as Stefan and Jeremy left the house, they could see two familiar forms make their way up the road. Walking swiftly, through the clearing and behind a thin veil of darkness, Elena and Damon came into view. Though the hands at his sides relaxed, and his shoulders slumped in relative relief, the look of horror and confusion of Stefan's face was apparent. And Jeremy was rather painfully and innocently oblivious to it all. He didn't know after all, the truth about the Salvatore brothers.

Despite Elena appearing in one-piece however, Stefan was startled. There she stood, walking up to him beside Damon, perfectly calm, with a remote, dreamy quality about her expression. She almost seemed in a daze, she looked exhausted enough. She had had the scare of her life, afteral. Beside her, Damon's eyes almost settled languidly yet alert on Stefan's frame, as if almost anticipating a move of attack. Yet, Stefan just stood there, waiting for the pair to come closer.

Jeremy ran up to Elena, as she opened her arms to him. As the brother and sister embraced, Damon walked up to Stefan.

"What happened, Elena?" Stefan asked her, ignoring Damon's position in front of him.

"Jeremy can you go into the house?" Elena asked her little brother, hoping he wouldn't ask any questions. Jeremy nodded, walking past the trio, two vampires and one mortal girl, onto the porch and into the house.

"It was just, someone came after me and-"

"Someone came after you!"

"Yes, but it was fine, Damon saved me."

And behind them, Stefan and Elena could hear the sound of Damon scoff. He was too smug for his own good.

"Really, it was no trouble. But, if I heard you scream my name it would have been better incentive."

Shaking her head, Elena passed both brothers, and closed the door to the house, going inside.

As the door slammed shut, and the sound died down, the rustle of the trees in the mild wind suddenly became startling, and, as Elena observed, spying on Stefan and Damon from the tiny kitchen window, the tension was apparent, the lighting of a match would have sounded like a sharp explosion, with the smoldering anger rolling beneath the surface of every encounter between the two putting out the dim flame.

"Was that true, Damon?"

"Well, considering how righteous your little cheerleader is, I would consider that she would absolutely loathe even the very thought of telling a lie. But… wait. She isn't your little cheerleader anymore is she?"

The smirk on Damon's face widened, as Stefan made his way closer to him.

"No, but I was right about one thing."

"And what is that little brother?"

"That you do have some feeling in yourself for her, or you would not have saved her tonight."

"Oh please, Stefan. I'm an evildoer, like you said. My so-called conscience is to finely tuned for self-deception. I know what I want, and more importantly what I feel. Or, I guess I should say what I _lack_ to feel. I'm just the villain."

And, kicking at the soil with the sole of his leather boots, Damon made his way back to his car parked at the clearing to the woods, the stars illuminating his black ensemble, as he glowed like a dark angel in the faint, blue light.

"It's Iscariot, isn't it?"

Damon turned to look at his brother, clearly amused.

"You came up with that all on your own, I'm impressed."

Stefan smiled faintly, shaking his head. And, making his way toward Damon, he faced his brother, and as it looked as if Stefan would almost have touched Damon arms with his own hands, they recoiled back, and into his jean pockets.

"Listen, I am grateful for what you did tonight, for Elena. But it still doesn't change anything. Just because I've accepted what you've done, doesn't mean I have to accept you."

Damon put his hand on Stefan's shoulder, nodding, lowering his head to level with his, to look him straight in the eye.

"And you are still my enemy tonight, as you will be in the morning. I expect nothing less. After all, if I didn't have someone like you to make miserable for the rest of eternity, what on earth would I do to spend time?"

* * *

Please review, and an update will come faster, with an even longer chapter. ;)


	4. Dream and Discovery

Civil Twilight

By:Megan

Chapter 4: Dream and Discovery

* * *

Elena knew that she was slipping. The world was spinning around her, and the chain link that had caught hold tightly of her waist just fastened its grip in an even more threatening fashion as the entire weight of her body tilted downwards. Her white shirt, ripped and caked with her own dried blood, stuck to her sweaty and pale skin like a bathing suit that she would have worn on a hot, summer's day. A groan escaped her lips, and several tears made their way from her lids and onto her ruddy cheeks.

It was then that she saw him, Damon, coming up to her from the distance. He became larger and larger as he drew closer, though he walked as if he were a mortal being. For, he was not moving swiftly towards her. He was wounded, and he was limping. He scuffled towards the pit from which Elena hung, the magnetic pull of it threatening to swallow her into its nasty, digestive track. And as Damon knelt before her, with the soundless shuffle and movement of his loose and gracefully spilling clothes, which draped his monumentally solid frame, he appeared to be shaking. He was just as frightened as she was, if not more so.

"I'm getting you out!" His face was flushed with a radiant red color.

"Grab hold of my hand!"

Elena looked up at him, trying with all of her might to shift herself a little to her left, so her hand could swing up and grasp his. Damon grabbed hold of her small fingers, squeezing them tightly, and straining to lift her from over the ledge from which she hung.

Elena could see Stefan behind him, with a rather small and pale girl.

"Damon, it is going to blow!"

That was the moment. The moment of realization that hit Elena like an icy storm. One that had been shrouded in mystery her whole life. It was the moment in which she knew that she would die.

"Elena, hold on. I'm pulling you up. You're making it out of here."

And, as Elena stared up at Damon in the harsh light, she could not ignore how miraculously beautiful he was. And with much fervor, Elena shook her head at him, smiling. And she saw in that shimmering instant his face contort in such immense pain as if he had been hit with a mound of bricks.

"Don't you let go!"

Elena's throat constricted, chocked with sobs, as her body trembled violently.

"Don't you dare let go!"

"I love you! I love you so much!"

With those words Damon turned hysterical, tears flooding his eyes.

And then Elena let go of his hand.

* * *

With a sharp intake of breath, Elena jolted herself awake as her alarm clock vibrated on he dresser by the bed. The merciless buzzing noise stopped as she pressed her thumb to the red button on the top of the device, letting out a sigh of relief and lounging back into the comfort of her many pillows.

It was Saturday, she should be sleeping in and an alarm should not be waking her up. Although it hadn't really disturbed a peaceful rest, with the nightmare Elena had just been having. For the past few days she had been having the same dream, not knowing exactly why those forlorn and tragic images kept repeating themselves in her brain.

Elena kept telling herself that is was probably Damon's surprising act of kindness several weeks back, saving her in the abandoned parking lot and returning her home. His intentions were still muddled to Elena, as well as the reasoning behind them. The story of Iscariot had turned out to indeed be true, however, as Stefan had confirmed her fears and Damon's suspicions. But, they had not attacked ever since that fateful evening.

The most disturbing aspect of Elena's dream, though, was that she appeared to be in love with Damon, and he the same. The very thought of that seemed absolutely ridiculous and completely absurd.

With that, the door to Elena's room opened, and Jenna came prancing in.

"Well, what is up with you? You look very happy this morning."

"Well, Logan just asked me on a date again and everything is going perfectly until he…"

"…Screws it up."

The two girls laughed as Jenna sat alongside Elena on the bed, clearly hiding something behind her back.

"What is that, Aunt Jenna? And don't tell me it is the leftovers from my candy stash in the kitchen."

"Hey, I didn't know you had a stash in the kitchen!"

Elena giggled, having betrayed her secret.

"Oops."

Jenna shook he head, taking her hands out from behind her back to reveal a small and neatly folded golden envelope, handing it too Elena.

"What is this?"

"A ticket to Mystic Falls Annual Ball! Logan invited me and gave me an extra ticket for you!"

"Oh, Jenna I don't think I can go…"

"Why not? Stefan can be your plus one…"

"Actually Stefan and I broke up."

"Oh."

A look of confusion broke over Jenna's face, and one that also said, _am I a good enough parental figure for my niece and nephew to actually tell me important things that are happening in their life_?

"Well why did it happen?"

Elena buried her head into the nearest pillow.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Well, then it can be the perfect break-up cure. Your coming, hun. No ifs, ands, or buts about it."

* * *

History class could not nearly get more boring. With their last teacher killed by "an animal attack" (now Elena knew better), all they did was sit in their desks, with every random and awkward substitute after another, showing them different Disney movies, and, maybe once in awhile, one actually relating to historic events.

The hardest part was being in the same room with Stefan, after everything that had happened. Feeling his gaze on hers, she would flashback to the sweet first kiss, the car wash, the playful banter, and then the shocking revelation and painful break-up. It was too much, and she would replay that tape over and over in her head whenever her eyes simply landed on his face.

She had always tried to avoid talking to him within the past several days, but it just wasn't an option anymore.

"Stefan, what happens now? My brother is out there searching for Vikki with the rest f the town."

"I am trying to track her, Elena. But it will take some time. Surprisingly, she covered her steps pretty thoroughly. But when I find her, you have my word that I will call you."

Elena nodded, and reached for his hands as of to caress them, but he folded his arms and walked away in the opposite direction down the hall.

* * *

_3 Hours Later_

**1 New Text:**

**I have found Vikki. Come over.**

* * *

Upon opening the strangely unlocked door to the Salvatore mansion, Elena was put in a position to yet again be taken aback in wonder. Inside, there rose magnificent and ornate arches adjacent to the spirally mahogany staircase, which stood tall, winding its way all the way up to the third floor of the house.

For the first time, walking into the living room, Elena noticed the rather gaunt and demonic fanged demons carved in marble and standing on their token pedestals rising in between the narrow windows, and everywhere the glint from the soft light of many tiny candles made them gleam. The drapes were drawn closed.

"Stefan?"

Elena called the name through the hollow house, her voice echoing alongside its borders, yet no one answered. Staring down at the coffee table in front of the antique red sofa, something caught Elena's eye. Picking it up, a small flurry of butterflies entered her stomach, and a warm stinging sensation invaded her throat.

It was a photograph. And it was entitled, "Katherine, 1864."

"Well, I guess the cat it out of the bag, isn't it?"

Turning around, Elena saw Damon enter the room from behind her, a casual smirk gracing his familiar features.

* * *

Any thoughts or criticisms? Or did you just enjoy the chapter? Please review and I'll do the same for you. :)


	5. Bending the Rules

Civil Twilight

By:Megan

Chapter 5: Bending the Rules

* * *

**Author's Note: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who left such fabulous reviews, praise, and constructive criticism on the past chapters. It really inspires me and makes me feel so much more confident as a writer. Thank you so much. **

* * *

"Stefan?"

Elena called the name through the hollow house, her voice echoing alongside its borders, yet no one answered. Staring down at the coffee table in front of the antique red sofa, something caught Elena's eye. Picking it up, a small flurry of butterflies entered her stomach, and a warm stinging sensation invaded her throat.

It was a photograph. And it was entitled, "Katherine, 1864."

"Well, I guess the cat it out of the bag, isn't it?"

Turning around, Elena saw Damon enter the room from behind her, a casual smirk gracing his familiar features.

Elena looked back at him with a dumbfounded expression on her face. Damon made his way to the couch, and sat while taking of his trademark leather jacket, while putting his feet up on the table where Elena had just picked up the picture a moment before. Looking up at the confused and upset girl to the right of him, Damon's smirk just grew several centimeters wider.

"If you need an explanation, I just got back from lunch, so I have all day."

Elena shook her head slightly, before pacing around the room, once, twice, and then three times before making her way to the couch where Damon sat, taking a seat beside him. And, gathering herself together she replied with, what she considered, a comment and question dripping with enough sarcasm and disdain to match his own.

"So, anything you would like to share?"

"This should really be Stefan's place but…"

"I need to know why I dated someone who I just discovered was a vampire several weeks ago has a picture of his ex-girlfriend who apparently-"

"Is your doppelganger?"

Elena shuddered; the word was so horrific and disgusting. She had to know why, if anything, Stefan had been with her for that period of time. She had cared for him, been entrance by him, and he had made her happy most of all. Elena had to know that it was not simply because she shared a striking resemblance to a woman who had used and abused him some 100 years ago in a tortured past full of secrets.

"I have a feeling I'm not going to get a straight answer from Stefan."

Damon smiled. "And you think you will get one from me?"

As a slight pause bridged into an even longer and prolonged silence, Elena replied with a thought that was just as confusing as it rang brilliantly true.

"Despite everything Damon, I don't believe you have ever lied to me about anything."

"Just let out a few chosen key-points about the lifestyle."

Elena let out a tiny laugh.

Damon took the photo gently from Elena's hand, and with quiet and wide-eyed simplicity stared at it admirably, seemingly transfixed by Katherine's innocent stare frozen forever in time.

"Her name was Katherine Price, that was her full name. Her family were traders, coming in from the North. They had elected to stay with us for a while, by a recommendation from several friends. She had a younger sister, Clara. And…"

Damon paused and Elena saw something in that second that she swore made her catch her breath. Liquid seemed to flood Damon's eyes for a brief instant, before they receded back, so that tears would not fall on his cheeks, as his throat restricted and he swallowed, replacing the grimace on his face with a smooth easy smile. And with that he stood up, walking towards the entrance to the foyer.

"Well, you're not going to tell me anything else?"

Damon turned, looking at Elena with a threatening expression.

"Like I have said before, it is Stefan's place, not mine. You said to me that I had never lied to you, well I haven't. She was beautiful like you; she looked exactly like you. Why my brother pursued a relationship with you I have absolutely no idea his true intentions. Ask him yourself."

"But-"

"Ask Stefan."

And saying that sentence with a hard finality, Damon left the room, leaving Elena to do nothing but make her way back home. She could not face Stefan now. Making her way to the car, Elena felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. It was Bonnie. Picking it up, she feigned a cheerful voice, pretending that she hadn't just experienced another scaring situation that she could add to her own mental list of all of them that were happening to her these past several weeks.

"Hey Bonnie, what's up?"

"You okay, Elena? You sound a little upset."

_Damnit, brush up on your acting._ Elena thought to herself.

"Oh, no I'm fine."

"Good, because no matter what you say you are coming to the Ball tonight!"

"Wait? Your going?"

"Yes, Grams got me an invite and you need to be there or I will be so incredibly bored. Caroline is going to be there too. She couldn't stop talking about it at all in class today."

"Hey, is she doing any better?"

"Much better, she seems to have forgotten almost completely about Damon."

"Good."

* * *

Wearing her mother's deep midnight velvet gown, Elena looked at herself in the mirror above her cherry-wood dresser in her room. She had been very surprised when Aunt Jenny had laid it out, as it was quite revealing, however Jenna was never one to play by the rules, she always tended instead to bend them.

Elena ran her brush one more time through her silky black hair, not wanting it to appear too curly, as Bonnie had insisted that she style it, instead of simply pulling it up in a loose pony-tail or tight bun.

She fixed the straps on the dress again, rubbing her narrow shoulders and feeling strangely insecure, as her eyes wandered to the plunging V-neck on the backless black dress that framed her slim form perfectly.

"Elena where are you? We are going to be late!" Aunt Jenna's voice drifted faintly from below. Elena sighed and gave herself one last mental pep talk. _You can do this. You used to love big events and fancy parties all the time. What do mom and dad have to do with it? And it's a good thing. You'll be able to take a break from the drama. _

Meeting Jeremy downstairs, he gave Elena a _hope you survive this _look as she opened the screen door and headed outside where a series of three cars were parked. Aunt Jenna's, Logan's, who was holding Elena's Aunt's recently manicured hands as they stood by the hood of his car, and… Stefan's. Who stood in a sharp black tuxedo by his Black Audi, giving Elena a shy smile.

The sky overhead was blue, milky and opaque, serving as a backdrop to the autumn leaves that were a stark contrast to Stefan's pale outline that become part of the picture in Elena's eye against them.

He took several steps towards her in his shinning patent leather shoes, saying softly and trying most desperately to cut through the awkward moment in the lightest way possible, "I really didn't have a choice. She forced me to come."

Elena let out a breathy sigh. Yes, Aunt Jenna broke the rules as well as bending them.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter, please review. :)**


	6. Forbidden Subjects, Places, and People

Civil Twilight

By: Megan

Chapter 6: Forbidden Subjects, Places, and People

* * *

The drive to the party at the old Founder's Mansion had been absolutely quiet, so much so that Elena could hear the sound of the gravel being crushed under the tires of Stefan's sports car on the dirt road. The tension between the two, boy and girl, was palpable at best. Although, despite everything that had happened and been building since Stefan's confession, Elena at least thought some decent conversation was in order. She felt several abrupt and hot tears make their way to the borders of her small oval brown eyes, threatening to become telling as they nearly made her heavy eyeliner, that she had applied only an hour before, run in two thin streaks down her cheeks.

Elena felt sick to her stomach. It was a building anticipation and fear, to be around all those people. Alone. The only reason Stefan had come was Aunt Jenna, and if he couldn't even speak a word to her during a drive, she didn't expect him to offer her a dance either. So she would be without a plus one, simply a fledgling youngster playing dress up on the sidelines. In a very revealing dress, which was most definitely not her style.

As Stefan pulled up to the mansion, a valet opened up the door for Elena, as she took a small breath and hopped out of the car, while Stefan came from her right and slid his hand into hers, wordlessly. Elena looked down at their to hands clasped, confusion inning her brows. But Stefan simply nodded and smiled at her, leading her up the steps, and through the ornate double doors. The minute inside, Elena eyes were bombarding by the vast array of colors, and the strings of endless tiny lights decorating the dark red walls, people littering the dance floor. The long rectangular tables holding food and drink hardly abandoned.

"I'm going to get you a drink," Stefan said out of the blue, those being his first words that he had spoken to Elena all night.

Elena nodded, Stefan going to the other side of the room and turning her head casually to the right, Elena drew a sharp breath, her eyes resting on the figure walking towards her. It was Damon. Sauntering up to her casually and confidently, as per usual. He was smiling, though. An actual genuine smile, not the demeaning smirk. And Elena wondered why. And then she saw his eyes rolling up and down her shape, almost as if inspecting the dress, every cut and every fold. As if he was undressing her with his eyes. Elena felt herself flush slowly, a warm and milky sensation invading her stomach. Coming up closer to her, Elena found herself fumbling for words, selecting a few, not knowing that once they came out of her mouth, how short and honest they were.

"Would you stop checking me out?"

"Well, give me something else to stare at."

"Your little act wont work with me, you know. I know what you are."

Damon came several steps closer.

"Do you really?"

With that, the feelings in Elena's stomach were quickly replaced with something else. Anger and annoyance. Seeing Caroline on the other side of the room, looking very happy, carefree, and absolutely gorgeous. And Elena came to the verdict that Damon was not going to ruin that.

"Is this just another one of your games?"

"What?"

"The very second that Caroline starts getting a little bit better, you come over here, trying to charm everyone-"

"You find me charming?"

"No. I consider you to be a pain in the ass. I think your trying to get back into her good graces and then mess with her. And I wont let that happen."

"Always the loyal friend Elena. But I think with your being so upset you forgot one little thing, that I don't need to try to get back into poor Carrie's good graces, I can just do my magic little eye trick and-"

"What are you, in kindergarten?"

A prolonged silence, with Damon being slightly taken aback, and quite honestly, amused. This young girl had been the only person to ever stand up to him, with the knowledge of exactly who he was. And if he hadn't been so damn entertained by it, Damon would have considering snapping her neck a long time ago. But what would be the fun in that?

"Well, is there anything that you're going to say?" Elena asked.

Damon smirked, coming up closer to her, and only mere inches from her face answered in a light tone, "You have pretty hair." And then he walked off. Leaving Elena to wonder how one person could say something so sickenly sarcastic and yet, have the words contain a somewhat genuine ring to them.

* * *

Caroline Forbes stood on the outskirts of the party. The petite blond eyed Elena from across the dance floor, suddenly looking down at her designer dress that her father had delivered from Paris and feeling like it had come from the sale rack at Wall-mart. Why, whenever she felt the slightest bit confident and beautiful, she spotted Elena right over her very shoulder? Or, it was more Caroline being behind Elena, always staring at that perfectly shaped back, the one that boy's couldn't seem to resist. The one that Elena possessed, along with a tiny waist, without having to diet. And the one that Caroline couldn't seem to achieve even when she took her lunch that her mom made her and threw it in the trash at school, telling Elena and Bonnie that she had already eaten, just having a few select sips of her sparkling water. Elena was always the shinning star, and she was more like the dying meteor crashing towards the ground, Caroline thought to herself. Seeing her mother patrolling the doorway, Caroline walked up to her, wanting to show of her new cream-colored dress. And that's when a look of horror came over her mother's face.

"Mom what is it?"

"Where did you get that dress?"

"Dad sent it."

"I can't believe him. It is way to low cut, is he trying to have my own daughter come of as a skank?"

And Lily Forbes stopped herself, looking at her daughter's hurt face, almost not believing the words that had come out of her mouth. Hot tears began to prick at Caroline's eyes as she ran off to the hallway leading to the guest bedrooms in the large house, ignoring the signs that said "Do Not Pass." She just had to get away.

Finding herself in a tiny dark bedroom, what looked to be an old nursery, Caroline sat down on one of the many antique sofa, burying her face in her hands. And then, hearing someone clear their throat behind her, she turned around to… find Stefan standing there. In the dark looking handsome and clean cut as always, the imposing and charming character, which wanted Elena.

"What are you doing her Caroline?"

And as she turned her face towards him, Stefan could see the track marks that destroyed her immaculate make-up on her pale cheeks, her eyes bloodshot with tears.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"

A concerned look came over the passive vampire's features and sitting beside Caroline, he hesitantly put his hand on her shaking shoulder.

"It's nothing."

"It certainly doesn't seem like nothing."

"I don't want to talk about it," And looking at Stefan's face in the dim light that flooded the room Caroline managed to get out a small question as her body racked with sobs. "Can you just sit here with me?"

"Sure I will."

* * *

Stefan hadn't shown up. Somehow, Elena knew that he wouldn't. He wasn't getting a drink. For all she knew he could probably be leaving town or…

"Hey, you want to dance?"

Elena turned to see Matt smiling behind her, giving her a light tap on the shoulder. Elena gave a content and relived smile. That was Matt, always her clean-cut jock knight in Abercrombie and Fitch. And she had to admit, that even though there had been no real passion between them as boyfriend and girlfriend, with how many times he had delivered whenever she was hurt or in need, Elena loved him for it. Really genuinely felt it pulse through her veins. Matt was a good guy, and he always seemed to catch her when she faltered.

"Would you, Elena? Just as friends of course."

"You don't have to worry, Matt. Stefan and I broke up."

"Oh."

"And, yes, I would love to dance."

A grin graced Matt's boyish and all American features, as he took Elena's hand and led her to the dance floor. For the first time in awhile, Elena felt as if everything in life were simple, like clockwork, like this dance with Matt; like it was before the Salvatore brothers came to town. Then, the song abruptly changed, and as everyone began to change partners with the dancers beside them, Elena found her hand in Damon's grasp. And putting a strong arm around her back, Damon led her to the rhythm of the new beat.

"Now for someone with only one left foot."

And placing his hand on the small of her bare back, Elena could feel the chilling coldness of his fingers there, the pressure as they supported her, digging lightly into her skin. It was a thrilling sensation. Everything seemed to blur, shapes moving past and colors in and out of the darks and the lights of shadows. After a few moments, Elena looked up at him. "About what I said before, about Katherine…"

"I already politely told you to drop the subject."

"I know…"

With that the glittering enjoyment in Damon's dark eyes drained out, and his smile faded, and their dancing slowed considerably. He seemed no longer amused, but fierce and heated.

"I advise you to not ask me again."

Elena looked up at him soberly, unafraid.

"That is not your decision to make, I'm involved in this now, you know."

And with those words, the lights went out.

* * *

**Authors Note: Evil cliffhanger, I know. After this chapter, I'm taking a two weeks hiatus to focus on other fiction and to significantly plan out the following entry in this story. There will be a revelation next chapter, and things are going to start getting a little bit more complicated than they already are in Mystic Falls.**

** Why did the lights go out, and why has Stefan been so standoffish, will he open up to Caroline? Express your theories, thoughts, criticisms or praises in a review please. They always make my day. :)**


	7. Boxed In Part 1

Civil Twilight

By: Megan

Chapter 7: Boxed In Part 1

* * *

Author's Note: First of all, I wanted to apologize to all of my readers. I promised only a two week hiatus, and yet I delivered a very long month. It's just some issues with my school that went down, which thankfully, are somewhat settled. And now that I am back at college, classes have been kicking my ass. I hardly ever had time to actually sit down and write.

But, here is the new chapter. And I wanted to let you know that no mater the breaks in between, I plan whole heartedly on finishing this story. Especially considering the passionate reaction out there for it. I give you my word.

* * *

Elena didn't know how many minutes had passed between then and now. Damon's hands had been on her bare back, pressing lightly, making her slightly faint and a little dizzy much to hear displeasure. The look in his eyes when she had mentioned Katherine's name was one of threatening menace that she had never seen the likes of before, boiling right under the handsome surface of his pale face, only being contained by the magnificent self-control that had taken him years of practice to posses. Only the slight twitching of his perfect jaw gave it away.

And then there was nothing but blackness, darkness. With silver stars dancing in front of her eyes as they tried desperately to adjust to the sudden change in light, Elena could hear nothing and see nothing. But she could feel Damon's hand squeezing her own, and somehow she felt somewhat secure. That was before she heard the screams. To blood-curdling shrill yells making their way from different trajectories of the old building. And there was a flare not to far ahead; apparently someone had tried to light a match. This sight was followed swiftly by the sound of a faint crack.

"Someone snapped that person's neck."

"What?"

Elena could hear the terror making its way to the ends of her voice, making it tinged with the sound of hysteria. Damon's voice, however, remained perfectly calm. His hold on her hand was firm, and Elena was sure that if they were in the light, his face might betray him. Because, as she tripped over her own feet as Damon led her off the crowded dance floor in the pitch black room, with others bumping into them, Elena's hands briefly made contact with, what she could only guess, was his lips. They twinged with what Elena could only assume was fear. As Damon took his left arm over to support Elena's side and help her back on her feet, she felt something sharp and hot dig into her side. Letting out a slight "oh" Elena could feel herself falter slightly, her legs loosing control of themselves, her eyes seeing nothing but the passing of dark violet hues dancing in front of her as her mouth let out a guttural howl.

"I think something got me."

She could hear Damon let out an exasperated sigh in front of her, which only added more to her annoyance, her rage, and her hatred that at that moment she wished she could stare straight into his eyes and channel all of those emotions right into him. If only there was light. Elena was almost sure he would let go of her hand and leave her behind as her legs gave out from underneath her and she fell smack unto the floor. Instead, she felt Damon's strong arms lifting her body up as if she had was as light as a feather. And time became an issue again. It ceased to exist. Elena did not know how many seconds had passed before she could feel the anger towards Damon drain out of her, along with all her energy although the pain remained. And she did not know when exactly a series of bright lights assaulted her eyes and a door squeaked open and then closed quietly shut.

Putting Elena down gently on the floor of a guest bedroom, Damon went quickly to work at barricading the door with every piece of furniture and objects he could find. Sofas, chairs, a dresser, cushions, blankets and sheets. Making sure that not a sliver of light could escape through the entrance to betray his and Elena's presence to the enemy.

"Damon."

He could hear her faint voice behind him. And he went over to her, kneeling beside her. She was bleeding profusely. She had been shot, luckily in the side with no permanent damage if it was treated, but it would still not be pretty. For her or for him.

He didn't know how many hours he could take in such close proximity to that much fragrant blood, even with a century and a half of practice. Elena began to shake slightly, tremors rolling up and down her body, tears escaping her cheeks.

"Look at me," Damon demanded. "Look at me, Elena."

Elena instead looked down at the torn flesh of her side that jolted down to the marrow of her bones. Feeling the blood leave her face and feeling the hysteria bubbling up in her throat, Elena nearly let out a scream.

"Don't, Elena! Look at me!" Damon said urgently.

Elena, still aware of her surroundings enough to know that Damon and her were in hiding, did not scream, but babbled incoherently over and over, until she didn't have the energy. Damon was holding her hands, and Elena was digging her nails into him._ He won't mind_, Elena thought, but that was before she realized the slight pinpricks in Damon's skin, liquid maroon seeping out. Elena realized she drawn a bit of blood.

But, he didn't seem to mind.

"Let go," Damon advised her, and Elena loosened the grip on his hands. "No, not of me," he said, smiling. "You can hold on to me as long as you want. Let go of the fear, Elena. Only then will the pain drift away."

Her shoulders sagging, Elena let out a deep breath.

"No one would do this. This is you."

"Excuse me?"

"Who would do this? You must have made an enemy, someone with a personal vendetta to settle with you."

"Besides the fact that I'm the vampire nursing you at the moment and not feeding on you, I think you should know that the people who I don't get along with very well do not have the intelligence or the flair to come up with a breach this eloquent. This is Iscariot. People who actually take pride and pleasure in what they're doing."

"Like you do?"

Elena and Damon both looked up at each other, something passing between them that the other, if asked, could not explain with simple words. There was nothing but silence.

* * *

Caroline sat inside the empty and huge mahogany boudoir in silence. She could hear the shuffle of Stefan's footsteps scanning the room. The panel door to the boudoir slid open as Stefan crouched over to enter inside it, sitting beside Caroline's frightened form.

"We are safe in here."

"What is going on, a robbery?"

"I don't know."

Although, that was a lie. Stefan knew exactly what had to be going on, it was Iscariot. He was not going to delude himself, and Caroline was in grave danger, despite being with him or not. Iscariot members were especially skilled in defeating a vampire; some were even trained since birth. It was all they knew. And Stefan understood with perfect clarity that of he was outnumbered by multiple agents, he didn't stand a chance. Especially because he only fed of human blood, his diet was his downfall. Maybe Damon, but not him.

"We're going to be okay, right?"

Caroline's tiny voice squeaked in the darkness, and Stefan could see her crystal blue eyes shinning with fear, her shinny blond hair shielded by the multiple coats hanging up on the rack, surrounding them.

"Caroline, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

"Why aren't you with Elena?"

"It's a long story." Stefan sighed, rubbing his temples. Caroline let out a small, reassuring smile.

"I've got time. We're going to be stuck in here for awhile."

Stefan looked over at the little girl in front of him. Because that is what she was, a little girl. He was a century old vampire with trust issues and in the middle of a not- a- relationship with a girl that he was more than sure he had fallen in love with. How could this conversation possibly work, or help anything?

"Okay. Elena and I… we're not working out. And she thinks I'm ignoring her at the moment. Or, that I maybe even hate her. When the truth is, the only person I despise is myself."

"Why?" Caroline's voice was soothing with sympathy.

"I want to be with her, I do. But the only way I can handle it is to stay away from her. I'm not a good man."

"Stefan, I don't know you that well, but from what I've seen you are not a bad person."

Stefan broke out a bittersweet smile.

"You don't even know the half of it."

"And you don't need to tell me. Actually I've felt always… lower than everyone else. A little less perfect. Shabby."

Stefan let out a small chuckle. Caroline looked on at him with a hurt expression.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. It's just, you are far from shabby."

Suddenly, a brief noise alerted the two to something that must have been outside of the room. But, within a minute, it had passed. Stefan, seeing Caroline clearly shaking in fear, slid his hand into hers.

"Yeah?" Caroline let out a broken sigh.

"Yeah."

* * *

As they sat in the warm room, the feeling of utter silence became almost too much to bear. Damon had wrapped Elena's wound with torn sheets from the guest bed and had tied it tightly, but still the blood seeped through. Her breathing had become slowed and more vapid. Tilting her head to the side, Elena turned to stare at Damon, their faces merely inches apart.

"I'm sorry I said those things."

"Don't be." Damon blinked, trying to give of a slight smirk. "I'm a bad man."

"I don't know if I can…" Elena stopped to catch her breath.

"Can what?" Damon looked on her with what appeared to be concern in his usually passive or comic features. And, with her being in the current state that she was in, Elena did not know what to make of it.

"I don't know if I can keep this up. Staying awake, I mean."

"You have to, Elena. You could die if you pass out."

"I know. It's just…" Elena's eyes began to droop as her vision started to falter, the objects in front of her became blurred and the colors started to drain out… until his hands came up to cup her cheek and tap her forehead slightly. "Stay awake Elena. You can."

"I'm just so tired."

"I'll tell you."

"What?"

"About Katherine."

Elena was not prepared for that surprise, but she downplayed it with a simple "Now this will keep me awake." Damon let out a sad smile.

"I guess I should start this off with one of those taglines, it's a story worthy of one after all. The year was 1864, and I had just joined the Confederate Army. It wasn't for my country, or some preconceived sense of liberty, but to piss my father of. And, as I was being drafted, my hat flew of my head and landed right into the face of this girl. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She looked like she was created out of alabaster and porcelain, and her hair caught the light in the most gorgeous way. She introduced herself as Katherine Price.

Her family was traders from the North, and we both laughingly joked that we could not be associated, that we would be enemies after all. But that is not how it planned out. We met by chance at the river before I went off. She scribbled down her address and told me to write to her, which I did. And she wrote back, I would usually receive ten letters or so a month, as both of us wrote every other day, but they were delayed, of course, because of the war.

We were reunited in New Orleans, when I was on leave for several weeks. Needless to say, it was a wonderful week. Our families were not aware of our relationship. And that is how it remained, I would go of and it would be absolutely awful, and then I would come back and it was… everything seemed to be at peace for a brief period. There was a time when we reunited in England, and…"

A pause so lengthy and with so much weight loomed over the two sitting on the soiled carpet soaked in Elena's blood, that she knew there was something rather momentous that Damon was about to confess, as much as it was a surprise that he had told her so much already. Elena just didn't know if he could bring himself to do it.

"… I proposed. She was beside herself with happiness; she said yes. And it was the best night of my life."

Elena felt her stomach churn and knot with grief for Damon… and something she could not name. And the thought that perhaps, despite all his words soaked in sincerity, Damon was in fact telling a lie. This was not the that Damon Stefan had designed in her fantasies. Most of the walls were down, and he was bare in the most mysterious of ways. And Elena could only be in awe of that.

"We separated after that. I didn't see her until a year later. It was by chance; I had discovered my father was in fact a secret Union sympathizer. The Prices came to stay with us, and I was with Katherine once more. But she was different, more pallid… her naivety was absent, and her body language was entirely new, foreign. When she told me what she was, I had not believed her. She had been turned while I was away. And at that point in time, she was a newborn vampire. Crazy with violence and drunk with power. And she wielded these to her advantage, through pursuing Stefan. It was as if an alien had possessed her body and sucked her essence out. But, it was still Katherine; I would take what I could get.

I always found it strange that Stefan seemed to return her affections. She had a little sister, Clara, who was only sixteen and was rather fond of my little brother. She was exactly like Katherine to a tee. All the pent up energy and giddy happiness locked up in one little person.

I will not indulge you as to the events that occurred next between the three of us, Katherine, my brother and I. Only that, what you know about The Church, is a twisted fantasy. Vampires, witches, and any other supernatural creatures were being hunted and killed, it was mass genocide. Rules did not apply. Women and children, family members…"

Elena cut of Damon softly. "I don't know if I believe you."

"Well, then ask Stefan when I tell you this: Clara burned with Katherine. A sixteen year old human girl was murdered simply because her sister was a vampire."

And Elena, before she could say anything, saw Damon suddenly get up from where he had been sitting, and put his ear to the door of the room.

"They are coming. We have to move."

Gently lifting Elena into his arms, Damon made his way to the door to open it. As Elena's head tilted back into his shoulder, her tiny fingers tightening around his firm neck, she felt the need to close her eyes. But she forced herself not to.

Walking quickly down the hall as silently as he possibly could, Damon elected not to use his speed to leave the house, as it could have drawn to much attention to anyone in the shadows. Looking down at the floor, he could faintly see the outlines of multiple bodies. _Shit_. He thought to himself. Iscariot was there, and whatever they wanted, they meant business.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	8. Boxed In Part 2

Civil Twilight

By: Megan

Chapter 8: Boxed In Part 2

* * *

Author's Note: This continuation of Boxed In Part 1 was originally supposed to be longer, but several scenes were cut due to a new idea that I have adopted for the story. The timeline will include flashbacks and flashforwards now in the continuing chapters, so these scenes will resurface then. Just to clear that up, enjoy.

* * *

Walking quickly down the hall as silently as he possibly could, Damon elected not to use his speed to leave the house, as it could have drawn to much attention to anyone in the shadows. Looking down at the floor, he could faintly see the outlines of multiple bodies. Shit. He thought to himself. Iscariot was there, and whatever they wanted, they meant business.

The outlines of the bodies came into focus with startling detail, as in a split second the lights snapped back on. Damon squinted slightly, as the change didn't affect him so much, he adapted quickly. And, standing in front of him was a 6-foot tall man. With blond hair and green eyes, wearing his own smirk. The type that had 'victory' written all over it. Damon felt the warmth from Elena's head on his shoulder, and he could feel the blood from the wound on her leg begin to trickle in between his fingers.

"This is absolutely perfect. The infamous Damon Salvatore boxed in."

Damon was not nearly paying attention to the significance of the words his assailant spoke as much as he was the accent. The man was clearly English, maybe with that heavy of a dialect from Wales. That was something to start with after he got Elena out of there.

"Well, I see that my reputation proceeds me. I've obviously never met you before. Perhaps you could tell me your name?"

The man laughed with a smooth menace.

"Really, Damon? Always trying to be to smart for your own good. No, you'll find out that answer in good time. I'm just here for you and your brother."

"Now, why would you want to kill us? I've been on good behavior haven't I? Only several humans a week. It's not like I've bled the town dry."

"Well, you see Damon, you don't need to turn a town into your own personal Gas and Sip for us to track you down. And our intentions towards you and your brother are merely business oriented."

"What?"

Now that was unexpected. Damon decided he had to decide on his next angle, and fast. If he was going to find out anything about what Iscariot was up to.

"What would Iscariot want me to do?"

The man smiled. "Iscariot? No, I work for this gentleman they call The Man. And you will learn about The Man. And what The Man wants is a little somethin' somethin' that only you can get for us."

Perfect. That information was plenty to go of off. And now to change tactics…

"I can be persuaded to do business for you if you let me take care of something."

"That isn't how this works."

"You see this girl I have in my arms? She's shot, and if I don't get her out of her and to a medical facility within the next hour she's going to die."

"Well that 's just unfortunate, isn't it?"

"Please… get out of my way."

"No."

"Get out of my way, or I will make you get out of my way."

"Playing the role of the dangerous animal are you?"

"Excuse me?"

"We know what you're up to. What you are."

"You know what I am…" Damon looked down at the several bodies at his feet, two large, big boned men at his left.

"…Bored." And, making sure to throw Elena to the side as gently as he could, Damon lunged forward at the man in the charcoal gray suit. Falling on the school's linoleum floor, Damon heard his assailant's arm crack under his grip. He must have managed a clean break to the bone. Taking a quick glance to the side, Damon saw with relief that Elena had fallen precisely unto the bodies on the floor, so as she was not hurt when he had let her go.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

The man underneath him smiled, and taking his two arms out from being pinned underneath Damon's waist, we grabbed hold of Damon's forehead and squeezed with magnificent force, despite the broken bone that he had just been delivered when he hit the floor.

"You will not know the answer to that question if I'm dead."

And, flinging Damon off of him, the man stood up and went to stand over where Damon had fallen on his side. Grabbing hold of his shirt, the man delivered several good punches clean smack on Damon's face while he was still down. Kicking the man in the shin, Damon stood up, his eyes now piercing violet red, the black and blue veins becoming visible on his face.

And, as his fangs elongated, Damon bent down ready to take a good chuck out of the man's neck, right when he felt a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. It was Stefan.

"Don't. We need him for information."

* * *

She could not understand why she had decided to come. Her feet seemed to say one thing, carrying her on their own accord to the front door of the Salvatore house, but her mind said another. She swore that every time she thought of him the nerves in her brain shrivel at the ends, because, quite honestly, he confused the hell out of her. He would say something of menacing fury, and deliver in equal measure. And then, at times, he would say one thing, and then do another, something kind and uncharacteristic. Out of the ordinary, a glimpse of something entirely foreign and new to the usual profile of the man that she had been accustomed to, however briefly.

She didn't know how it could not have been genuine, though. It seemed to real to simply have been fabricated. She still hadn't asked Stefan about the truth of Katherine's mortal sister, Clara, and whether or not she had burned in the fire. Maybe she was afraid of what Stefan might say, shattering the allusion that Damon was telling nothing but the truth.

Knocking on the door, she took a breath to reassure herself that this was indeed the right thing to do, before the nagging voice in the back of her mind began to speak. He would take this as a tool; convert what was a heartfelt and genuine gesture into a punch line to hurt her or Stefan's priceless ego in the future. So, she turned sharply onto her heel to leave, until she heard the creek of the door opening behind her. And, Elena turned to see Damon standing in it's opening.

She admitted that whenever she saw him, the muscles in her chest danced around and constricted. Elena could never decide whether this was a good or bad thing.

"I'm sorry but Stefan's not here right now."

"I'm not here to see Stefan."

Damon's features in confusion, and he looked at her almost as if he was concerned.

"I'm here to see you, actually."

And, Elena saw the look on Damon's face to be one of genuine surprise.

"I have to say something, and please don't interrupt and make me regret coming here. When you picked me up in the parking lot that night last month, I thought that it was a ploy to make Stefan upset, or to prove a point. And, that it just so happened that helping me was a way of accomplishing that. But, last week, when I was shot and… just you saved my life, okay? And, despite not having the best track record in the world, you did that for me. I will never forget it."

There was a long moment of silence. It was fraught with some big emotion. But, before it could be broken, before Damon seemed to break from the stasis of apparent shock that he was in and actually open his mouth to say something, Elena turned and left as quickly as she had shown up in the first place. She didn't want to hear what Damon had to say, no matter what it might have been.

* * *

Lying in the guest bedroom, despite that he should probably been up and out, Damon laid there on his back on the mattress, his eyes fixed on the paneled ceiling. The fact that Elena had actually shown up in the first place, despite the intention, it seemed just to strange. Almost enough to make the moment seem insignificant. Although, it stuck out in the sea of the countless images that had cluttered the files of his brain for all those years. He just didn't want to think about it. But, every second of the encounter kept coming back, as if he was looking at the entire absurd thing from another perspective, outside of himself.

Without warning, a sudden sensory impulse overtook him, and Damon made his way down the stairs. For some reason he could swear… and then he was at a loss. What had it been that made him get up? There it was again. The sense of a faint familiar smell, several lost words and memories bubbled up to the surface, all too familiar.

Someone was at the door.

And walking towards it, Damon put his hand on the knob, swinging it open. And, sure enough, standing just outside and looking straight at him was a petite blond with long curly hair and green eyes.

"Clara?"

It was impossible.

"Hello, Damon."

_To be continued..._

* * *

Dun, Dun, Dun. Did you see it coming? Were you surprised? Let me know.


	9. Shine A Little Light Part 1

Civil Twilight

By: Megan

Chapter 9: Shine A Little Light Part 1

* * *

Author's Note:

So, first of all, I wanted to apologize again for another hideous break in between chapters. My computer broke down while I was at school and I had to wait till I finally went home to get it fixed and retrieve all my files, including this chapter. This entry to the story, Shine A Little Light, reveals some HUGE things and I actually refer to it as the beginning of everything that is going to happen here on out. I've had to cut the chapter in half, as just to update sooner because I really don't have time to write over Spring Break. That being said, the original cut of this chapter will roughly come out to about 20 pages long. Yeah, it's that big. This chunk is still the longest addition to the story, though. But, whatevs. You just want to get on with the reading right? ;)

* * *

Note on Katherine's Character: If you have read the previous chapters, you know that I have completely reinvented Katherine's persona and her past relationship with Damon, including her family lineage etc. This is thoroughly explored even more to a point in this entry.

* * *

Lying in the guest bedroom, despite that he should probably been up and out, Damon laid there on his back on the mattress, his eyes fixed on the paneled ceiling. The fact that Elena had actually shown up in the first place, despite the intention, it seemed just to strange. Almost enough to make the moment seem insignificant. Although, it stuck out in the sea of the countless images that had cluttered the files of his brain for all those years. He just didn't want to think about it. But, every second of the encounter kept coming back, as if he was looking at the entire absurd thing from another perspective, outside of himself.

Without warning, a sudden sensory impulse overtook him, and Damon made his way down the stairs. For some reason he could swear… and then he was at a loss. What had it been that made him get up? There it was again. The sense of a faint familiar smell, several lost words and memories bubbled up to the surface, all too familiar.

Someone was at the door.

And walking towards it, Damon put his hand on the knob, swinging it open. And, sure enough, standing just outside and looking straight at him was a petite blond with long curly hair and green eyes.

"Clara?"

It was impossible.

"Hello, Damon."

Everything played in real time. No agonizing slow motion, no fast paced words and quips. It just was. Clara was there, standing right in front of him. And Damon's usual defenses almost seemed dangerously rendered useless for several seconds, the shock easing it's way into his system, and the apparent disbelief making it's way into the linings of his face, as every bit contorted with what almost looked like a reference to immense pain. The air around the space between him and her and the door had a consistency like molasses, hot and sticky as several mosquitoes buzzed around the lamp shinning directly above Clara's form outside the entrance to the house.

"It can't…" Damon's voice hitched in his throat, the syllables refusing to make their way out, the words remained incomplete.

And Clara… smiled. And Damon couldn't place it. Although retaining a faint sarcasm, the way her lips curled and turned up almost seemed to resemble a certain… malice? But, he wasn't sure.

"I… I saw you… I saw you die."

"Well, apparently not. I'm here aren't I? Aren't you going to let me in?"

And Damon stared at her for awhile longer. Shaking his head. "You are not Clara."

"That doesn't answer my question. Are you going to let me in or not?"

"No."

Clara shrugged, her small pale hands in her jean pockets, and Damon could see the tiny muscles in her arms underneath the black sleeves of her leather jacket flex. If this was Clara, it was most definitely not the one from his past.

"It doesn't matter anyway. I've been invited."

And, walking straight past Damon and into the foyer, Clara made her way into the house. An easy and carefree stride to her step; self assured and confident. Damon came to the conclusion that she apparently was masking some sort of harbored fear of him, or she had none at all. And, that was not a good thing. He should know, someone with nothing to loose didn't even acknowledge the concept of "fear" or understand the definition. He was that person. And if this was Clara, she was too.

"I love the perks about being a vamp, you know? Thankfully it isn't like those bullshit fables or fairy tales. One time, one word 'you can come in', and you can, well, come in whenever you want. Even if it is 100 plus years after the fact."

She smiled at Damon, her eyes gleaming. And he was vaguely reminded of putting Elena in the similar position only several months ago. _Be careful who you invite in the house. _Only this time, this time, the game was much more dangerous. The players were on level ground.

"God, last time I saw you… It was a long time ago."

Clara's green eyes, clear as a pair of glass marbles and twinkling like a mischievous cat's, scanned the room. Damon studied her face. She didn't look a day over sixteen. However, there was something different about her. Perhaps it was the way she carried herself, the careless and delicate tremor to her voice, or that she seemed to carry with her a wealth of knowledge that far surpassed what appeared to be her ideal age. Yes, she appeared like a porcelain doll, but look closely enough, and you'd cut yourself on a jagged untamed edge and bleed. There was something threatening about her, and quite honestly, it unsettled Damon.

Hearing the footsteps behind him, Damon turned to see Stefan trotting down the stairs, rubbing his eyes from apparent lack of sleep.

"I heard something. What is all the…"

And, upon seeing Clara, Stefan froze at the foot of the stairs.

"What the hell?!"

Clara looked at him as a mother who might have scolded a child for taking one to many homemade cookies from the pantry.

"Now, that is no way to treat a guest."

Stefan eyed Damon, as if asking permission on what their next move should be. He didn't believe it either; this must have been someone who took Clara's form. Iscariot wasn't beyond that type of mischief. They were smart about how they went around things.

"You're not a guest," Damon spat. "You're probably a demon."

Not knowing if it would actually work, not knowing if his senses were attuned enough, Damon lunged for Clara, grabbing her arm.

"Damon, no!"

The last words he heard drifted from Clara's voice, shaken with terror and tinged with sadness… perhaps for him? But, he wasn't able to discern between them as his mind was plunged into the past.

* * *

The play, for which Clara had taken a whole several days to write, was nearly ready to be put on. She had forgone breakfast and lunch, the knots in her stomach growing tighter with anticipation, wondering if anyone at all would love it. Well, of course they would have to, Katherine was going to be in it, the star of it actually, the leading lady, the femme fatale. There was no doubt that it would not be a success, it was being put on for Mr. Salvatore's business partners. And, no man could resist Katherine.

Clara had always been in awe of her older sister. And, no matter what any of her friends thought, jealousy never even played a part in the relationship. Clara envied her sister yes, but if anything, all she wanted to do was to be her when she grew older. Katherine would, at times, brush Clara's hair in the morning and help her with her powder and pearls, taking her in her arms and saying "In the next several years, you will be so glamorous and so adored, you will have surpassed even my tiny shoes!" And Clara would giggle and embrace Katherine, because even the thought of being remotely like the sister she had placed on a pedestal filled her with excitement and tremendous joy.

But, for the past several months, Katherine had been different. Uncharacteristically cold and complacent. It was only when Clara had followed her one night to the woods, that she saw her own sister feeding on a runaway slave, that she discovered the truth. Katherine had been turned only several months before in Paris. She had been in a dreadful carriage wreck on her way to the boat to come home.

The driver had gone missing, but when Katherine had awoken on the muddy ground, choking on her own blood and a mouthful of water, was it that she discovered someone had turned her. She told Clara all of this rather shamelessly, and Clara swore to keep her sister's secret. She couldn't bear for them to be separated, let alone the townspeople were lately rounding up those they considered "demons" and that included the vampires. If Clara could do anything useful at her young age, she came to the conclusion that it would be to protect her sister.

At the moment Clara was rather upset, because with the short time that it would take for the business partner's to arrive, there would be no time for another audition for the tragedy that she had concocted for Katherine to play out on the tiny makeshift stage built up in the living area. At sometimes chilling, and at others desperately sad, the play told the tale of a love destroyed, conveying the cautionary moral that one not built on a foundation of good sense was doomed. And, as a guilty but curious Clara spied on her sister and the older Salvatore brother in the confined space and the spiraling stairwell, she knew exactly what her inspiration had been.

Katherine was dressed in a plain red linen gown, a white collar sticking up, with a silk scarf around her neck, the ends tucked neatly into the petite jacket that she wore. Damon was beside her with one hand on her elbow, his body barring the entrance for her to leave. He was obviously confronting her about something.

"I want to know why you carry on with Stefan like this."

"And I want to know why you care. You still have me. It's something for me to do, I can have anything or anyone I want now."

"Is this a joke? It's because I pick my brains apart every night thinking about him rubbing his hands all over you."

"No it's not a joke, Damon. And, besides you're not here half the time. You're off doing something all the time even after you deserted the confederacy. What am I supposed to do while you away?"

"You managed perfectly well before."

"Yes, but that was before I became what I am. I have needs, you know. And besides, I'm sure that you have a menagerie on admirers."

"And I never give them the time of day."

"Don't sulk, it not becoming."

"Do you think I give a damn?"

"I don't think you're sleeping alone in these other towns every night."

"So, you fabricating these encounters with me and other women in your head gives you license to amuse yourself with my brother?"

"And why not?"

"Because, that is not the woman I fell in love with."

And, with that comment from Damon's lips, Clara saw her sister let out a tiny sigh, with several tears escaping her eyes and dribbling down her cheeks. She started to cry, taking Damon's hand in her own, and Clara, in all honestly, could not figure out why Katherine hadn't done this before when her sister said,

"I'm sorry."

Damon looked taken aback, guilty that he had made Katherine upset, and sighing; he embraced her as she put her thin arms around his neck and squeezed tightly.

"I've made some terrible mistakes haven't I?" Katherine said, hiccupping between her soft sobs, as Damon rubbed her back and nodded. "Yes, you have. But, it doesn't mean we can't fix this." Katherine, her hands still firmly placed on Damon's shoulder and his on her waist, looked him into the eyes, a flicker of hope between them.

"Okay?" Damon smiled at her, wiping the tears away from her cheeks, and Katherine let out a relieved exclamation, nodding.

"I have to go now," Damon said releasing her from his grasp, "I have some work to do. I want you to keep safe and just stay inside, though. I know you think you're invincible, but the villagers are mad."

Katherine let out a little laugh, and bending her head towards Damon, the two shared a light kiss. He nodded, putting head down and closing his eyes out of the pure joy and relief of the moment, taking Katherine's curly head in one hand and placing a kiss on her forehead. Walking towards the door, Damon turned as Katherine stopped him with several words.

"I can make him forget. I'll end it tonight."

* * *

After dinner, Clara had been told that her play was canceled due to the fact that the partners were not coming because Mr. Salvatore would be out until very late, maybe not even come until early in the morning. Not receiving an explanation as to why, and obviously upset over the turn of events, Katherine took Clara into her arms, telling her that she could sleep in her room tonight.

Laying there next to the cold form of her sister, (wasn't she supposed to be technically dead after all?) The two girls were awakened by a loud crash. Katherine jolted up out of the bed.

"What the hell?"

Slipping on her robe and putting on a pair of slippers, Clara looked stuck still in horror as Katherine put her tiny hands on her sisters own.

"You stay here, alright? I'm going to go check out what is going on. It's probably some fuss over nothing between the servants."

And even Clara could see through the transparent façade that her sister was using to mask her fear.

"But, Kathy…"

"Do as I say."

During the five minutes that Katherine had gone out the door, Clara heard the shattering of glass downstairs. There were several screams. And, just then, Katherine ran back into the room, shutting the door.

"They're here! Clara get under the bed." Katherine took a key from her dresser, locking the door.

"Clara, I said get under the bed this instant!"

"But, what about you Kathy?"

Clara started to shake with fear, and she began to cry. Katherine simply tried to give her a reassuring smile, taking her in her arms. "I'm going to be fine. There is a place where I can go. The Fells have somewhere they can hide me in their house. I'll find you tomorrow, okay? Damon will be here then. I'll either be here to fetch you, or he will. I just need you to be quiet for me and get under the bed. Can you do that?"

"Where is Stefan and everyone else?"

"I don't know. Just do this for me, please?"

Clara nodded. And, as Katherine left her, she put her ear to the wooden planks underneath as she his underneath the furniture, trying to keep as quiet as possible. Only, it didn't matter. Because, a mere five minutes later, Clara felt a pair a strong hands grab her legs and pull her out, as she screamed for her life.

* * *

Katherine never knew what had brought her there. There were only three times in her life that she remembers as vividly as the day she lived them, the day Clara was born, the day she was turned into a vampire, and… the day she had met Damon. And, as she stood in the old church with another 26 vampires, leaning against a pew for support, she didn't know whether or not this would be one to add to the list. She wondered if she should pray.

And, as everyone surrounding her caught their breaths as the door to the church was open, and several men stepped in, Katherine witnessed a sight that made her wish she had never been born. Clara, being led into the vicinity, bruised and bloody. A black welt covering her left eye, shutting it closed as the skin flapped over it, with her face covered in blood, and her hands, black with ash and shaking. And, she was being led by none other than Giuseppe Salvatore. Clara was thrown into Katherine's arms. Katherine, holding her close, could feel dislocated joints beneath Clara's dress. At least three bones had been broken.

Clara managed to let out a raspy breath, looking up at her sister.

"Kathy?"

Katherine, having a firm hold on Clara, looked up at the Salvatore's boys' father, a look of smug malice in his eyes. She knew her sister, being as young as she was, could not sustain these injuries. Clara was going to die.

"I'll tear your heart out with my own hands. You will pay for this."

Giuseppe Salvatore smiled, walking up to Katherine, a glimmer of victory in his eyes.

"You, you little witch, will never go near my sons or see the light of day again. However…" Salvatore scanned the room and it's occupants, "Some of you may live and be forgiven for your heinous acts if you tell me the location of several others that we are looking for. Most in particular, a witch named Emily."

And, despite the others protest, one of the prisoners in the background spoke up.

"She is near the Black Swamp several miles from here."

Giuseppe Salvatore smiled, and backing towards the doors, told his men to shut them.

"But, I thought you said we would be forgiven?"

Giuseppe smiled, straightening his jacket.

"Perhaps. But that is between you and God."

And, with that, the doors to the church were shut. And the windows snapped close, blocking out any moonlight. It was only several minutes later that billows of smoke escaped from the hinges and below the doors, rising from the floor. The screams became painfully loud, as several others tried to take candelabras and bash in the doors. But, Katherine knew it would not matter. They were bolted anyway. Clara, looking down at the flames through the slits in the windows that began eating into the walls, and as she inhaled the thick smoke into her lungs, became aware with what was happening. And she released herself from Katherine's grasp, trying to run to the door, sobbing hysterically. Katherine grabbed hold of her, however, and taking her face in her hands looked Clara straight in the eye.

"Listen to me Clara. Listen to me! We are going to get out of this. It is going to be alright."

And knowing they would be ignored by the others who were trying desperately to find a way out, Katherine led her sister over to the marble altar, having Clara lean on her for support. As they reached it, Katherine did her best to lift the heavy red velvet rug underneath it, revealing a trap door. Leaning down and encircling her tiny fingers over the handle of the hatch, Katherine pulled it open, leading Clara inside. The grimy metal ladder that they climbed down seemed to take for hours until they finally reached the bottom of, what appeared to be, a sewer system.

Having found their safe haven, Clara's hand slipped from Katherine's grasp, and she slipped, falling unto the ground, her legs so weak and strained she was not able to support herself up. Katherine knelt down beside her, screaming frantically, "Clara! Wake up, please wake up!" Clara, having been unconscious for only a moment, opened her eyes at her sister's plea, forcing the lids open. Katherine, staring her intently in the face for what seemed an eternity, took a deep breath, having come to a conclusion.

"I need to turn you."

Clara looked up at her sister, terror in her eyes and unacceptance of the present circumstances. However, she knew Katherine spoke the truth."

"If I don't turn you, you are going to die."

Katherine, taking placing a hand on Clara's cheek, looked at her reassuringly.

"I'm going to get this over with very quickly, alright? You are going to be fine."

And, before Clara could allow any more of the anticipation or fear sink in, Katherine sunk her teeth into her sister's neck. After she had drunk as little as possible, Katherine bit her wrist, and held it over Clara's awaiting mouth. The blood beginning to trickle unto her tongue, Clara closed her eyes, her lips encircling over the gash on Katherine's delicate wrist, the veins pulsing and rising underneath the alabaster skin.

* * *

_To be continued...._

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Hated it? Enjoyed it? Let me know. Reviews are like my writing crack. Feed me!


	10. Shine A Little Light Part 2

Civil Twilight

By: Megan

Chapter 10: Shine A Little Light Part 2

* * *

**Ah long time no see readers! I've been so incredibly busy with school I've barely had time to think straight let alone write. And my muse has been lacking. But, whatevs. The summer is nearly here, hence a lot of free time. ;)**

**Again, as usual with me, this chapter is supposed to be 5-6 pages longer but I cut it in two to work on the second half for awhile longer. Enjoy!**

* * *

After drinking her fill from the blood overflowing from her sister's delicate wrist, Clara heard a sound. A dull roar that grew louder and louder with every passing second until she actually came to the realization that not only was the sound vibrating in her ears, but she could feel it. She could feel the sound! It enveloped her entire senses; a throbbing in her lips and fingers, her veins in the flesh of her temples pulsed violently as she grabbed Katherine's exhausted face in her hands.

"What is happening to me?"

"You are dying," came her sister's reply, "That is all. Your heart will stop. Your body will compose as though it were a block of ice, and then you will be reborn as what I am."

Clara sighed, as she was re-born her capacity for fear diminished rapidly, and the drumming in her ears distilled into a mild alarm that rang somewhere in the distance of herself. Enthralled by the vivid colors spinning overhead, she was aghast a how she had never recognized the beauty of it all before. Her senses were more attuned, as she peered through the tunnel of her vision with her new vampire eyes.

However, the awe diminished as soon as, for some reason, Katherine stood and sunk, without warning or precedent, into Clara's arms. With her fingers locked around Clara's own, Katherine looked up at her sister's face with the most innocent astonishment.

"It is over."

"Katherine," Clara stared at her. "What have you done?"

"I have allowed you to drain me to the point of death. If I had not allowed you to take as much, in your weakened state, you would have surely died."

And Clara, disbelieving and horrified, felt a wetness make its way down her cheeks. As she lifted a finger from her left hand towards it to wipe it away, she recognized it covered in blood. Her tears were no longer composed of a small mass of water spilling from the green pools of her eyes in what would only have been several hours back. Now, she held her dying sister in her arms, her face stained red. Katherine sat upright, supported by Clara, composed, refined, but no longer filled with any sort of brilliant energy that had been so inherent of her being, only pallor and weakness remained now. Her legs stretched out straight, limp on the floor. Her white dress pooled at the bottom of her feet like an angel's gown around her small form.

Looking up at Clara sharply, she asked a final request: "What I am about to tell you, it is a necessity that you find someway to write it down."

* * *

Damon, wringing himself free of the kinetic pull of Clara's hand, which, by simple touch, had plunged him so deeply into the wanton and desperately sad past of love lost, fell backwards and shamelessly unto the floor. He said nothing. The pain on his face was infinitely more terrible than Stefan had ever witnessed in the history of having known his brother, and Clara looked down upon the fallen man with a look of pure and unadulterated pity. Damon's face contorted and softened and desperate on the verge of some awful and terrible emotion that he was not able to control. He was in fear of that emotion. And also of the feeling of pain which in its spellbinding power, in that moment, entrapped him.

"You_ are_ Clara."

Expectance. Astonishment. Pain.

"Excuse me."

Standing up, Damon went rather quickly back up the stairs, and out of Stefan and Clara's sight. Looking past his shoulder at his brother, Stefan turned back his attention to Clara, with one simple question.

"I don't know what Damon just saw, but apparently he believes that you really are not just simply a figment of any power or spell. So I just want to know one thing: if you have been perfectly content spending your entire existence in complete anonymity from those who knew you, why come back now? What are you hoping to gain?"

Clara, stepping closer to Stefan, her gray eyes gleaming, answered, "It's not about what I have to gain. It's about what all of us have to loose. You, me, and Damon. You and I both know that there is something coming, and it is so big, ugly, and damned, it makes all three of us look like tiny puzzle pieces."

* * *

Elena had been sitting in that chair for the past several hours now. Completely still, completely silent. She was staring ahead at something at the wall, a spider; slowly making it's way up the paisley print that lined the wallpaper. Because it was not what she was thinking about. She still saw the image of his hand in hers, when she hesitantly took his hand in that darkened room in the manor when she had been shot. And she still remembered the exact shade of bruised purple that tainted his shirt when she came to thank him. But not his face, because she didn't dare look up at it. She didn't dare let her eyes wander up to level with his own. It wasn't fear, it was something else entirely, and that in and of itself frightened her to such an extent she had no idea what to make of it.

She felt pathetic, she felt down. Mostly because she had only known the actions that Damon had carried out over the past six months to be heinous and unforgivable, and in an uncharacteristic moment of heroism, he had saved her, seemingly devoid of any ulterior motive. But, had that somehow absolved him of his wicked practices that preceded one diminutive deed of kindness? Not by a long shot. Elena had worked herself up into these fits; wanting to loathe him, wanting to completely hate him, despise the very beautiful form that composed the mysterious soul within, but only found herself at an entire loss.

She was utterly fascinated by him, and it made her sick. She was indebted to him, and that absolutely perplexed her at how it had come to this. What's more, is that she found herself actually thinking about him, wondering where he was or what he was doing at certain times during the day, she found herself caring about him. Elena could feel bile rising up in her throat, and she got out of her deceased father's chair in his abandoned study, only to make her way to the place she knew she would find herself going to, but the last place she should be. At the Salvatore house.

* * *

Driving up the pathway to the bright green clearing shielded with heavy trees, Elena stopped Jenna's beat up truck awhile away from the house. She stared ahead for a moment, looking at the branches twist and turn up the threatening trellises of brush and weeds, it was as if the very nature surrounding the house was protecting it, and maybe that was why it was the only place where Elena felt truly safe. Because, she wouldn't accept the other possibility as to why, as it was directly related to _him_.

Elena's eyes were drawn to another form however, making it's way towards the clearly at the right of the truck, about several yards away. It was Damon. Elena found herself being grateful that she luckily stopped the truck when she did, otherwise she would have missed him if she had made her way completely to the house. Pulling the keys out of the ignition and putting them in her pant's pocket, Elena slid out of the truck, shutting the door behind her, making her way to Damon.

"Damon."

She said his name to alert him to her presence; however, he did not hear her, so that she had to repeat herself.

"Damon? Damon…"

One, two, three more times each time with passing clarity until he finally acknowledged her by tilting his head up, and staring at her straight into her eyes, level with her own.

Elena was shocked at how blank his face appeared, it was sallow and appeared even paler than usual, although a ruddy red color appeared on his cheeks as is he had actually been crying. They just stood there in silence.

"You're here. Why?"

Formulating an answer that would have probably come out as naïve or even nonsensical given that she could never keep up with Damon's blatantly honest questions or virulent quips, the vowels spilling out of Elena's mouth only ended up constituting to nothing more than a raspy sigh, as both Stefan and Clara came up to them at the clearing.

Damon turned away from Elena to look at Stefan, and then the two brothers glanced at Clara and then back to Elena, excepting Clara to be staggered by the resemblance to her sister. However, the blonde didn't even grant Elena a second glimpse, simply turning to the brothers and letting out a tiny laugh.

"What? Did you really except that I didn't do my research before coming back to town? I even studied up on Elena ... the little genetic wonder that you are." Turning to the perplexed brunette, and looking her up and down.

"Right now we have a much more pressing matter to deal with, Damon," Stefan announced to his brother, who looked as if he honestly didn't give a damn. His neck was bent down, his eyes cast at the ground. Stefan would have merely summed it up to him trying to vex him; Elena took it as Damon simply didn't want anyone to see his face at that particular moment. She had not been there nor had any knowledge of the event that took place previous to her arrival, however she could sense that there was something wrong. _Did Damon even feel pain_?

"We have to take care of this Iscariot situation," Stefan continued, "the man that we have is not talking."

"You mean the one who confronted Damon and I during the attack at the Founder's Mansion?"

"Yes." Damon answered, "We have him."

"What do you mean you have him?"

"What I just distinctly said. Chained up in the basement to be exact."

Stefan nearly scoffed at Damon's off-handed bluntness with Elena, and Elena looked at the two Salvatore's as if they were both insane.

"You've completely lost it."

Damon rolled his eyes at Elena's exasperation over the subject.

"Well we needed information, didn't we?"

Clara spoke up. "Well, the point is, he's not talking. And, I thought I could be of assistance. Give me 10 minutes with him, and he'll tell you what you need to know."

* * *

**Hurrah for evolving feelings! You'll be getting magnificent D/E next chappie, that's all I'm saying. ;)**

**Last but certainly not least, read and review! Chapters find themselves being written when I'm inspired by feedback. lol**


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